Here’s another quick Thanksgiving Day comic review!
Is Nightwing #14 worth buying? No! Not at all. It’s a boring and predictable issue. This two-part story was nothing more than filler while Nightwing‘s true creative team took a breather and recharged for the upcoming Death of the Family tie-in.
How was it boring and predictable? Nightwing and Shiva fight on a rooftop while talking about how good the other person is at fighting. There’s no resolution, either. I predicted how this issue would play out in this week’s Upcoming Comics article and was right on the money. They fight, Shiva escapes, and it wraps up with a one-page teaser for Joker’s return.
What about the art? The art is kinda mediocre. Guinaldo has drawn Nightwing before and I never had much of a problem but this issue was visually uninteresting and a lot of the faces looked downright weird (kind of mushed down and chinless, but maybe I’m so used to seeing square jaws in every comic that my perception is all jacked up). And why can’t Nightwing’s gauntlet spikes stay in the same spot? They’re always switching side from panel to panel and it got annoying this issue. And whoever came up with Lady Shiva’s New 52 design should be dragged out into the street and beaten. She looks like Master Shredder and The Lizard had a baby. In what way is strapping an ax to your 7ft long ponytail a good idea?
Is Dick’s personal life at least interesting? That’s been good stuff. It was alright until Dick pondered over whether delaying the grand opening of his AMUSEMENT PARK while the JOKER is on the loose is a good idea or not. That moment really made me facepalm. Uh…yeah. Yeah, probably, Dick. Look, if Two-Face is on the loose it’s not a good time to open an account at the Second National Bank. Wanna check out the Lewis Carroll exhibit? Not if Jervis Tetch is free. Industrialists invite you to a fancy fundraiser dinner while Poison Ivy is around? RSVP a no. Drop your wedding ring down a sewer drain while Killer Croc is on the lamb? Let it go! Understand? Good.
This and the previous issue are completely skippable comics unless you just so happen to be a big fan of Penguin.
SCORE: 4/10
